Why I am Not a McPioneer

I, The Wonderful Unknown Person of The Internets, am a fan of McFly. I would even go as far to say that I’m a “McFly Fan”. I have somewhat of an addictive personality and end up buried deep in trivia of any random thing I may be attached to at any given time, and because I’m so darn sentimental, usually these things stick with me as I go.

Like the time I was completely obsessed with the Age of Sail and The Historical Docks of Liverpool. I may not be completely obsessed with it anymore, but all the stuff I found out about that time is tucked away in a compartment of my brain, filed under “Age of Sail Trivia of 1996”. Not to be confused with the information contained in the sub-folders named “Age of Sail Trivia of 2005” and/or “Age of Sail Trivia 2010/11”.

I was going somewhere with this… Ah, yes. McFly. A marvelous band and the closest thing I’m sure my generation will ever get to The Beatles. Until they went and changed their sound, and left me somewhat disillusioned and disappointed. Luckily for them, my negative opinions and nay-saying is drowned out by the copious amount of fans loving their ~new sound~ and flinging their knickers at them.

I’m not mad, or bitter, just disappointed. I don’t think this is what Chuck Berry was expecting. But you say any kind of negative opinion on this to other fans and you’re met with either non-confrontational disagreement or down right confrontational disagreement. I’ve not given the new direction a fair enough chance? I’m pretty sure I have. Excuse me if I generally don’t like that style of music. It’s not an anti-“new direction” based opinion, it’s an anti-“that style of music” based opinion. I’m not a fan of JLS, Blue or Taio Cruz either.

I don’t want them to progress to bigger, better things? Pish Posh! What sort of fan would I be if that was the case? I actually think this is a step back for them. A Different thing, yes, but Bigger and Better? When Tom actually wrote “She Falls Asleep” all by himself? There’s something limited-sounding about the production of their recorded songs, and it sounds like there’s something missing when they sing live. And I hate to say this, but whenever I’ve seen them sing live lately on TV shows and what have you, it sounds like they can’t hold their notes anymore.

This new direction, new sound, new look of McFly is not the McFly that I became a fan of. Yes, it’s true of me that I don’t like change or accept it very well, but I’ve handled every other change they’ve been through since I became a fan. This is a question of musical taste, so until they start to resemble the band I got into, I’m afraid i’ll have to be a life-long fan from the sidelines. This latest stuff hasn’t changed my opinion of the old stuff, after all.

But this still doesn’t get to the bottom of why I’m actually not a “Pioneer” either. You’d think a hardcore fan like me, who has never met the band, would jump at the chance to be a tip-top fan who get V.I.P treatment for queuing and seating. Well, no, not really. First of all, ticket prices have increased. I’m not saying this is Their Fault, but tickets already cost a pretty penny, and then when you add the travel, possibly accommodation and then the food and merchandise on top of it, I’m already paying more than I should for a few hours of bliss.

And I’m sorry, but paying any extra for perks I won’t even enjoy would be ridiculous and against my principles. I’m in a wheelchair, I need wheelchair seating, what use would priority seating be for me? Also being in a wheelchair means my queuing experience is messed with as it is, a majority percentage of fans are pioneers so I’d be going from one ridiculous crushing queue to another and still taken out of the queue for my own safety. At least now with the majority of fans getting their own queue, I’m more safe in the normal queue outside with the non-pioneers. All 10 of us.

And last but not least, I just shouldn’t have to pay more to get the average experience of a fan. Since this Pioneer/Members of McFly.com started, every perk has gone to them. Not just first and fore-most because they’re the V.I.Ps, I mean nearly Every extra has gone on the website and everywhere else directs you to the website. Video chats, self-produced interviews, competitions and whatever else, all only accessible if you are a Pioneer. If you’re Not a Pioneer, the reply is “Why aren’t you?” not “Not to worry, you’ll get these eventually.” And I disagree with that.

Not being a Pioneer doesn’t make me less of a fan. The dislike of their music might make me less of a fan, the distance from ~the fandom life~ might make me less of a fan, but not “Not paying for extras on top of an already expensive hobby”. Anyone who has that opinion is welcome to it, but my opinion of those with that opinion isn’t a very good one. In fact I’d go as far as saying that those with that opinion are probably the same kind of people who I went to school with, who took pride in their parents buying from Waitrose and Sainsbury’s and thought little of those of us with a cupboard full of Kwik-Save’s No Frills products.

I just hope the band members don’t have that opinion, otherwise I’ll be left feeling more than Disappointment in their New Sound Direction.